2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Over the years, the Chinese economy has been on the track of rapid development and the intelligent manufacturing is nothing short of miracles. The smart eco-plant of GAC NE was completed on December 23. The plant leads the way in China’s new-energy automobile industry, hence a new “Name Card” of this sector.

The solar energy, also known as the “Ultimate Energy,” is used to its full potential in the new plant. With 52,000 photovoltaic panels, the annual power generation stands at 16.77 million kilowatt-hours, accounting for 15% of the power consumption of the plant under full load. It is a new eco-plant based on the comprehensive utilization of energy, the world’s first of its kind. Environment-friendly process and materials are set fair for sustainable development. Furthermore, the first model (Aion S) will be put into mass production in next May, and it will become the world’s first pure electric vehicle based on solar energy technology.

GAC Group (2238.HK), together with its cooperative partners, has invested RMB 4.5 billion, with total output exceeding RMB 170 billion and profits and taxes exceeding RMB 42 billion. With intelligent new energy enterprise core technology R&D, parts manufacturers and internet enterprises etc., the total planning capacity of the plant is excepted to 400,000 vehicles/year.

The world-class plant will provide a striking demonstration of intelligence and network. The new plant of GAC NE, the first project in the Automobile Industry Park of GAC New Smart Energy, will play a leading role in industrial agglomeration. The Park figures high on GAC Group’s list of priorities and will focus on three fields, viz. intelligent manufacturing, R&D innovation and automobile town, to establish itself as a world-class “Silicon Valley of Automobile” in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. After completion, GAC NE will set a pattern of unmanned drive for others to follow in China. The unmanned drive (L4) in the plant will have particular distinguishing features: full independence, high precision and safety. Car hailing, along with temporary parking and manual intervention, will be readily available at the touch of a button via the APP software.

When it comes to production process, the new plant is blazing a trail in the fields of aluminum riveting, switching technology of spot welding, “steel and aluminum mixing” production line and seven-axle robots featuring self-adaption and flexible, straight lines. Such technologies as 3D visual guidance, digital simulation and steel/aluminum mixture body assembly will take the plant to the forefront of intelligent manufacturing, quality management and custom production on a global scale.